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Francesca Rudkin: Financial literacy in schools is a good thing · Best of Business

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talk st B.
• 0:12
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  Speaker 2: These days, I have blurred memories of my time at
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  Speaker 2: primary school in Auckland in the late seventies early eighties,
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  Speaker 2: but I can very clearly remember my ASB school Banking book.
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  Speaker 2: ASB began school banking in nineteen seventy two as a
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  Speaker 2: way for children to learn about saving and banks, and
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  Speaker 2: I guess it was also with a view to retaining
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  Speaker 2: us as customers when we were in the workforce and
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: had real amounts of money. On banking days. I can
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  Speaker 2: remember bringing my fifty cents to school. I know this
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  Speaker 2: is one of those and my day stories, but fifty cents.
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  Speaker 2: I'd take it to school and I'd make my deposit.
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  Speaker 2: My book was stamp marked with the date and the
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  Speaker 2: deposit and a new balance amount written in and goodness
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  Speaker 2: did I love watching the balance increase. I'm pretty sure
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  Speaker 2: at one point I had an ASB cash and elephant
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  Speaker 2: box money box as well. I'm sure this is ringing
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  Speaker 2: a bell with some of you. Now, look, this is
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  Speaker 2: far from what the government proposed this week. Compulsory financial
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  Speaker 2: education for students up to year ten starting in twenty
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  Speaker 2: twenty six, but encouraged by my parents. It was at
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  Speaker 2: primary school that my understanding of savings and budgeting began
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  Speaker 2: because it was easy and available while I was budgeting
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  Speaker 2: to add to my rubber and sticker collections. The real
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  Speaker 2: benefit was that I became a good saver and it
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  Speaker 2: has stuck with me for life, as has my now
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  Speaker 2: worthless rubber collection, currently in a box under the stairs.
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  Speaker 2: I know teachers are inundated with curriculum changes and already
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  Speaker 2: have a lot to deal with in the classroom, but
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  Speaker 2: there must be room to grow financial literacy beyond what's
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  Speaker 2: already in the maths curriculum. Concepts like saving, budgeting, debt
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  Speaker 2: and investment of all the things student learned to prepare
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  Speaker 2: that prepare them for life after school. Surely this is
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  Speaker 2: among the most useful and important. Yes, this is something
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  Speaker 2: parents should be teaching their children. But financial knowledge is
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  Speaker 2: not equal amongst our adults. Some parents don't like talking
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  Speaker 2: about money. Some assume their children will pick up good
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  Speaker 2: money management habits through osmosis, Some prefer to leave it
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  Speaker 2: to an expert to explain along the way, and many
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  Speaker 2: children just don't listen to their parents. When my son
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  Speaker 2: got his first part time job, I suggested he read
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  Speaker 2: Get Started Investing by the guys behind Equity Mates podcasts.
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  Speaker 2: There've been guests on the Sunday session. I just thought, well,
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  Speaker 2: this is perfect for a teen boy. He'll relate. But no,
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  Speaker 2: the idea of having his own money and the freedom
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  Speaker 2: to spend it how he liked was way too exciting.
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  Speaker 2: And Okay, I was probably a bit optimistic, but at
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  Speaker 2: least I know that in theory he understands the idea
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  Speaker 2: of compound interest. Look, I'm enthusiastic about my children becoming
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  Speaker 2: financially independent as quickly as possible. So the more information
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  Speaker 2: they have from as many sources as possible, the better
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  Speaker 2: prepared they are to make good decisions. And as an adult,
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  Speaker 2: I'm still learning how to manage my money better. So
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  Speaker 2: let's get them started young. We don't know what the
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  Speaker 2: curriculum requirements will be at the stage, but let's get
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  Speaker 2: our children the basics and the best chance to be
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  Speaker 2: good with money for life.
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